When the numbers were put to him, Mr Sunak said they were "not surprising" as the country is dealing with something "unlike anything we have seen before".

He said: "I genuinely don't believe this is a time for ideology or orthodoxy - this is an unprecedented time and unprecedented crisis and that calls for an unprecedented economic response.

"So in that sense it's not surprising to see some of these figures because what we're dealing with here is unlike anything we've seen before which is why we've put in place the measures we have."

More than two million people could lose their jobs and the economy may fall off a cliff edge because of the coronavirus lockdown, the UK's fiscal watchdog has said - as the Chancellor warned of "tough times" to come.

The uk is facing "uncertain" economic times.
Picture:
PA

Experts at the independent group said unemployment is expected to hit 3.4 million if the lockdown lasts three months followed by a partial lifting for three months.

It said: "As with GDP, the rise in unemployment is likely to be very fast, as the sharp rise in new claims for UC already attests.

"Indeed, we might expect almost all the rise to happen within the first month.

"However, the OBR said on its new prediction, GDP will then jump 25% in the third quarter and a further 20% in the final three months of 2020 - meaning the economy should recover by the end of the year.

The chancellor acknowledged that there will be huge short terms difficulties, saying: "This is going to be hard, our economy's going to take a significant hit and as I've said before that's not an abstract thing, people are going to feel that in their jobs and in their household incomes.

"I think the measures we've put in place will help and then as we get through this it will mean that we can recover quickly and strongly and get our lives and economy back to normal," he added.